be governed through that department thereof which rules in him. If it be the selfish, he must be governed by an appeal to selfishness; if it be charity or moral love, then that nature must be appealed to.
Since, then, man must be governed by an appeal to that impulse which rules in him, and since mankind are naturally under the selfish impulse, the first government to which man becomes subject naturally is that of force; and it appeals to his hopes and fears—that is, to his selfish desire for gain or happiness, and his dread of suffering and loss. Hence selfishness is the basis of the first dispensation of government. This dispensation of government is not calculated, nor is it designed, to make the comer thereunto perfect. Its end and use is to protect the individual from external or outward evils, and not from that which comes from within. It can not extend beyond the cleansing of the outside of the cup and platter.
The most this kind of government can do is to restrain man from depredating upon the rights of his neighbor, by an appeal to his selfishness. Hence the language of the law pertaining to this kind of government is, "eye for an eye," "tooth for a tooth," "life for life," etc. It does not propose to govern man by appealing to his sense of justice and his love for right. On the contrary its language is, man has no sense of justice or love of right. He is selfish and sensual, and therefore the law appeals to his selfishness and sensualism. It says, Your love of your neighbor is not sufficiently strong to prevent you from injuring him, but your love of self is sufficiently strong to prevent your injuring yourself. Therefore says the law, If you
